Forecast, Time Frame For Viewing Total Solar Eclipse In Dutchess

Viewing conditions for Monday's eclipse will be good in the Hudson Valley.Photo Credit: AccuWeather.comThis map shows the globe view of the path of totality for the Monday, Aug. 21 total solar eclipse.Photo Credit: NASAA look at the path of totality for the 14 states that will see the total solar eclipse Monday. The Hudson Valley will see about 71 percent coverage.Photo Credit: AccuWeather.comTotal solar eclipsePhoto Credit: Luc Viatour/www.Lucnix.be via wikipedia

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The first total solar eclipse of the 21st century is just hours away from arriving here.

On Monday, everyone in the continental United States, in fact, everyone in North America -- plus parts of South America, Africa, and Europe -- will have at least a partial solar eclipse. The thin path of totality will pass through portions of 14 states.

Weeks of anticipation have been tempered by a big variable: the weather forecast and whether the possibility of cloudy skies might prevent Hudson Valley residents from seeing it.

Now though, there is no uncertainty.

The forecast for Monday calls for sunny skies and warm temperatures, with a high in the mid- to upper-80s.

The eclipse will be visible starting at 1:23 p.m. Monday with a partial eclipse. Peak viewing time with about 71 percent coverage expected will be around 2:44 p.m. The event will wrap up at around 3:59 p.m. with a partial eclipse. Wearing protective eyewear to view the eclipse is a must.

The sun will disappear behind the moon, turning daylight into twilight, and leading to a quick plunge in temperature before streamers of light streaking across the sky around the moon's silhouette.

It will mark the first time a total solar eclipse will be visible from the mainland United States since 1979.

How long ago was that? Well, consider this. Jimmy Carter was president and 63 Americans were taken as hostages in Iran shortly after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.

"A total eclipse of the sun belongs on everyone's bucket list," said Hudson Valley resident and renowned astronomer and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson of North Salem.

The eclipse will also be the first to sweep across the entire country since 1918.